A new megastar co-owner for the Toronto Tempo
UNFORGETTABLE SAGAS, SCOOPS AND SCANDALS FROM THE ARCHIVES |
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Dear reader, “I don’t buy Birkins, I buy sports teams,” trumpeted entertainer Lilly Singh on Instagram this past Tuesday, after the Toronto Tempo announced that she had joined the WNBA team’s ownership group. This isn’t Singh’s first foray into women’s sports—she’s already a co-owner of the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City FC. But it is the first time the digital content creator is being called to leverage her specific skill set: she has been named chief hype officer of the Tempo, which is set to tip off in 2026. Cultivating fandom on and offline has been Singh’s singular focus since 2010, when she recorded her first YouTube video at the age of 22. What began as a series of comic sketches filmed under the pseudonym Superwoman expanded into a social media empire. Since amassing millions of subscribers and followers, Singh has hosted a late-night talk show and a quiz series, made it onto the New York Times bestseller list, and founded an entertainment company to champion women and girls.
As Emily Landau wrote in this 2017 profile, Singh always had a meticulous vision for her YouTube brand. That clarity of purpose has brought her fame, fortune and the chance to topple Drake as the leading champion of Toronto basketball. For more great long-reads from Toronto Life, subscribe to our print edition here. |
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| By Stéphanie Verge
Features editor |
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LILLY SINGH GOES TO HOLLYWOD
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She was an ordinary kid from Scarborough working a dead-end job. Then she posted a short confessional on YouTube and became a global celebrity almost overnight |
BY EMILY LANDAU | MARCH 21, 2017 |
Many of the world’s biggest female celebrities position themselves as untouchable deities. Lilly Singh has steered in the opposite direction, building her brand on inclusiveness, empathy and laying bare her imperfections. By intuiting what her teenage audience is thinking—no matter how banal—she makes them feel heard, validating adolescent emotions in an ever-more-alienating world. The intimacy of the platform helps too: on YouTube, there are no middlemen. Singh has earned trust by communing with her viewers directly. The one thing standing in the way of her quest for world domination is timing. There’s only so long a grown woman can complain about high school cliques before her audience decides she’s too old to understand them. So, as Singh’s fans grow up, she intends to grow with them. |
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| In the June issue: Toronto’s best new restaurants. Plus, the go-to lawyer for celebrity offenders, inside the Jontay Porter betting scandal and a sex worker’s journey to Hollywood.Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today. |
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